The National Independence Day of March 25th was celebrated this year in Greece amidst tight security measures not only in the capital city, but across the country as well.
In Thessaloniki the parade started ten minutes later than scheduled, while employees, workers, teachers, SYRIZA and far leftist organizations members gathered at the coast avenue of Alexander the Great chanting slogans against the politicians and the harsh austerity measures. Significantly large police forces deterred the crowd from getting close to the politicians. 15 persons have been detained.
In Patras, the police had taken tight security measures to prevent any incidents that would halt or cancel the parade. The mass at the Cathedral of the city was only attended by the VIPs, while police officers would not allow citizens to enter the church. Tension built up between the gathered crowd and the police and one man was arrested. Local media reported that the police used chemicals against the people who tried to approach the VIP tribune. Some of the protesters threw bottles of water against the policemen.
In Crete, the most violent clashes occurred in Heraklion, where the police failed to control the angry crowd that broke through the iron bars that were keeping them away from the parade. The police used teargas to repel the protesters.
In Veroia, 32 individuals were detained before the parade commenced for precautionary reasons. The detainees had sticks and other objects on them.
In Larissa, Volos, Corfu and Lamia the parades were completed with only some minor incidents.
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